Travis lifted Derek’s T-shirt and pulled it over his head, then worked the button and zipper of his jeans. Derek hastily kicked off his boots and stepped out of the last of his clothing, so he stood naked before Travis, stationary and waiting for the next move.
Staring at Derek’s chest, Travis imparted a tiny kiss on themound of each pec before lifting his chin for another kiss. “I love your strength,” he said, in a breathy whisper. “When you touch me, I feel your power.”
Taking that as an invitation, Derek possessively ran his hands over Travis’ shoulders, but Travis stilled his hands. Unsure what to do and of exactly what Travis wanted, Derek ran his fingers through the roots of his hair, blewout a frustrated breath and waited.
Travis paused while his eyes washed over Derek, and it was a long moment before he spoke again. “I just want to look at you. I love the way you’re standing there with your hands on your hips, and the way your hair fans around your shoulders and arms like a black cape. The way the light hits your torso creates shadows in all the right places to accentuatethe curves and sinews of every muscle in your chest and abdomen. You’re so beautiful. And your legs. . .” Travis’ eyes dropped and he squatted so he could run his hands up and down Derek’s thighs, concentrating on the indent between the hamstrings and quads. “I love the muscles in your legs. There’s nothing like a man’s body.” His eyes flashed up at Derek and remained there. “There’s nothinglikeyourbody.”
Derek’s heart thudded and the blood rushed to his cock, which was eye level with Travis’ mouth, only a few inches away from paradise. Derek pushed his hips forward, silently begging Travis to take him. When Travis didn’t touch him, he placed a hand on the back of Travis’ head, exercising extreme control to only add the slightest bit of pressure.
“Notyet.” Travis rose to his feet. “I want to go slow and savor every moment before you make love to me. I don’t want to rush.”
The idea of slow, seductive foreplay had Derek ready to burst, but he had no experience with such an act, and nerves made him freeze in place, as unsure as a nervous bride from another era. “Tell me what to do.”
Travis smiled. “You know exactly whatto do.”
“I know. I meant . . .” He had no idea what he meant.
“Just slow it down so you can enjoy it.” Travis slipped out of his clothing and stood in front of Derek for inspection, completely naked. “I saw you. Now I want you to see me. Take your time.”
Derek did as Travis suggested, taking in the well-defined naked body in front of him a few inches at atime. He started with Travis’ face and gazed into the complex eyes that always held a mixture of mischief and unrest. His focus trailed down Travis’ long neck and delicate throat, over the perfectly rounded shoulders, and over the sculpted torso. A dragon tattoo coiled up one side of Travis’ ribcage in colorful shades of green and yellow, ready to strike. Lean, without any extra weight, tall andstatuesque, the taut muscles of Travis’ upper body were clearly defined, as if drawn by an artist’s paintbrush.
Derek’s gaze traveled lower, past Travis’ navel and . . .Oh my God.He tried not to blink, forced himself not to react, but his jaw fell open and the corners of his mouth pulled downward into a curved arc. Small jagged scars marred Travis’ lower abdomen and upper thighs.Clusters of thickened alabaster skin with barbed edges, thin straight white lines, and bumpy half-moons were whittled into Travis’ flesh. Derek’s eyes shot up to Travis’, but Travis’ lids were sealed shut above beet red cheeks. Derek wanted to cry for the tormented soul inside this sweet man who stood here completely exposed. He gulped back his emotion and looked at the damaged flesh again. Theywere old wounds, battle scars from an anguished past, and Derek chose to leave them there. He wouldn’t speak of them. He didn’t see them. He only saw the beauty and strength of the soldier in front of him who endured and conquered. He placed the palm of his hand on Travis’ cheek and pressed a tender kiss on Travis’ lips. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered.
Travis dropped his chin intohis chest for a few seconds, and then met Derek’s gaze head on, with anguish marring his dark eyes. “Thank you for saying that.”
Travis’ voice was so low that for a second Derek thought he imagined it. He wrapped his arms around Travis in a tight, protective embrace, and held him with all his might. With their bodies pressed together, their cocks bumping against one another, heatrose between them like steam. Derek ran his hand down Travis’ back, over his hip, and reached for the man’s cock, but Travis stepped back. “Why are you taunting me?” Derek asked, a frustrated smile on his lips.
“I wasn’t done looking at you. Were you done looking at me?”
“No. I wasn’t done. I just wanted to stop and kiss you.”
“Then go ahead. Look but don’ttouch. Not yet.”
This was driving Derek crazy, but it had his body burning with desire. The electricity buzzing between them sparked enough fire to heat the room, and Derek licked his lips to moisten his dry mouth. He stood face to face with Travis, but the gap between them forbade touch. It offered a full head-to-toe landscape that he drank in. His eyes raked over Travis’ torso again,and this time he stopped so he could see it – really see it. He watched Travis’ chest rise and fall with each breath, which made the arc of his modest pecs swell. The tiny, light brown hairs on Travis’ chest would have been undetected if not for this in-depth perusal.
Travis’ hand went to his cock, and he lightly stroked it.
“What are you doing?” Derek asked breathlessly.
“I’m letting you see how much I want you.”
Derek let out a long groan. The sight of Travis in all his naked beauty, touching himself, almost made Derek explode, and they hadn’t done more than kiss. He pulled his eyes away from Travis’ erection, now freely pointing toward the ceiling, and ran his gaze down Travis’ long legs. They bore heavier muscles than his arms, probablyfrom his love of climbing and hiking.
Travis slowly turned to face the opposite direction, offering a view of his perfect ass.
Letting out a grunt of desire, Derek could no longer control himself and stepped forward to cup the globes of Travis’ ass in the palms of his hands. His lips met Travis’ shoulder and imparted a soft kiss before sinking his teeth into the warmflesh. Travis turned his face a quarter of the way and offered his lips. A groan escaped Derek, as insatiable want for this elusive man filled him. Pushing his hips forward, his cock involuntarily slipped between Travis’ butt cheeks, exactly where it wanted – no, where itneededto be. Travis turned to face Derek, stepping back to put space between them once again.
“Patience,” Traviswhispered. “I want you just as much. But I’m not done looking at you. Turn around.”
Derek didn’t want to look anywhere else except at the man he was about to possess. When he didn’t move, Travis smiled and shook his head slightly as he took Derek by the shoulders and turned him around to face the wall.
“You’re just as beautiful from the back as from the front, exactlyas I envisioned,” Travis said, after a moment.
Derek’s first thought was,Travis had imagined what I looked like naked? A happy rush of excitement made his head all tingly, until lips landed on the back of his shoulder and sent a shudder down his spine. He remained placid as he waited for what Travis would do next, while his heart beat faster and his throat turned too dry to swallow.He took a deep breath when Travis’ erection pressed against his lower back, and he rubbed against it. Tired of waiting and ready to ravage this man, he spun around, took Travis’ face between his hands and drove his tongue deep between Travis’ lips, causing the man to bend at the knee and sigh heavily.
Travis hung onto Derek’s wrists, as if he would fall onto the carpet if he let go.“Make love to me,” he whispered.
The simple request floored Derek with its intimacy. Taking Travis by the hand, he led his soon-to-be lover to the bed and eradicated the covers with an impatient swipe. He reminded himself that Travis wanted this to be unrushed, and he reeled in his haste. He sprawled across the sheets and laced his fingers behind his head, while his long hair flowedover one shoulder. He allowed Travis to stare down at him for a moment before calling him into bed.
